On this week's Peak at the Panthers, Cale Berger and Chris Peak break down Pitt's loss to Clemson and preview their regular season finale against Georgia Tech on Thursday night.
The Panthers fell 52-17 to the Clemson Tigers their last time out, and while pulling off the upset may have been a tall task to begin with, Chris and Cale agree that it was Pitt's self-inflicted errors that put the game out of reach early in the first quarter.
The guys had previously said it would take a near-perfect game by Pitt to win the game, but that is far from what the Panthers did. Their three first quarter interceptions resulted in 21 points, and put the game out of reach much earlier than they would have liked. Clemson's run game was also as good as advertised, holding Pitt to just 16 yards on the ground.
Cale concurs that the Panthers hurt themselves early, but concedes that they are far from the only team to be on the wrong side of a lopsided Clemson win, and that they performed much better than they did against the Tigers in the 2018 ACC Championship.
While that game two years ago proved to be a nightmare for the Panthers, both the Pitt offense and defense were able to find their moments of success two Saturdays ago. Quarterback Kenny Pickett was able to pass for 209 yards and two scores, while defensive end Rashad Weaver was able to sack the elusive Trevor Lawrence twice.
Looking ahead to Thursday's matchup with the Yellow Jackets, Chris sees another opportunity for the Pitt offense to excel against a lackluster defense. Georgia Tech owns the worst scoring defense in the ACC allowing over 38 points per game.
They are the second-worst in the conference versus the pass. Chris expects the offense to have similar success to what they were able to do over the last few weeks against Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Cale believes special teams will play a significant role on Thursday night, particularly the battle between the two punters. Georgia Tech's Pressley Harvin III is the best punter in the ACC, while Pitt is third as a team.
Field position will be critical, as the Panthers offense may have to deal with poor starting field position throughout the game, an area that they have struggled with a times this year.
Pitt punter Kirk Christodoulou will have to do the same for the Panthers, pinning a Georgia Tech offense deep that has struggled to score and extend drives all season.
The Yellow Jackets are also the worst field goal kicking team in the conference, which could affect decision making throughout the night.